


Unexpected

by EverybodyLovesEggsy



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Eggsy is just the cutest, Fluff, Kid Eggsy Unwin, Young Harry Hart, Young Merlin (Kingsman)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-09-23 08:24:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17076794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverybodyLovesEggsy/pseuds/EverybodyLovesEggsy
Summary: What if Eggsy was still a baby when Lee died? And what if the Unwin household that Harry visits is not what Harry expects?First two chapters are kind of sad so be warned. This fic should lighten up (I have plans for some good fluff, a little bit of angst, and perhaps a romance or two as more characters are added) but be warned: I tend to update pretty slowly due to other commitments I have, but I will try to update as often as possible.Tags will be updated with the story





	1. If Only

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a kid!Eggsy fic and revolves around young Harry and young Merlin so please don't judge the accuracy or inaccuracies with ages. End of the first chapter explains what ages I see people as so please read that

Harry stared at the door in front of him. The last thing he ever wanted to do was to walk up the steps and knock on that door. When he knocked on the door in front of him, Michelle Unwin would realize that her life, and that of her son’s, had changed – she just hadn’t realized it yet.

Harry sighed and looked down. If only he’d seen the grenade. If only he hadn’t let Lee push him out of the way. If only the _bloody dog test_ hadn’t been taken away – at his urging no less. _If only if only if only_ …

Harry squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, willing those thoughts to go away. He knew they would be the same ones that would continue to haunt him until the day he would be able to fulfill the favor Lee had won for his family, if they ever stopped.

Opening his eyes, Harry pulled the medal out of his jacket pocket and looked down at the Kingsman symbol on the front. Arthur had originally tried to deny Harry from helping the Unwins in any capacity. However, after giving his life to save others, Harry was able to convince Arthur that his family didn’t deserve less than the family of an agent. The _recruit_ , not an _agent_ , saved two of Kingsman’s most valuable assets and his fellow recruit after all. Harry sighed again and pocketed the medal; if it was his choice, the Unwins would get much more than a _bloody_ _favor_.

The agent looked back up at the door to the little house in front of him. Taking a deep breath, Harry walked up the steps and knocked on the door. Harry frowned when he heard absolutely no movement coming from the house. From his position at the door, he could see the tree was lit and a light in the house was on through the curtained window. He knocked again, this time a bit louder. Harry heard, what he would guess to be through the closed door, a baby crying but still no movement. As quietly as possible, the man tried the door’s handle; his blood went cold when he found it unlocked. Although not in the worst neighborhood, Harry couldn’t see any reason as to why Mrs. Unwin would leave her door unlocked, especially with Lee gone. The agent placed a hand on the gun in his holster and, as silently as possible, opened the door and peered into the small home. Other than the baby’s cries, which were much clearer than with the door open, nothing seemed out of place from what he could tell; wrapped gifts were under the tree, a crib was in the living room, dishes were in the sink, a highchair at the table. Ignoring the baby until he knew the house was safe, Harry quietly made his way through the house until faced with two closed doors; the first clearly contained the baby, while the second had light coming from under the door. Harry drew his gun and quickly, but quietly, opened the second door.

Shocked by what he found, the agent swiftly lowered his weapon and made his way across the room. Mrs. Unwin – who he recognized from a photo Lee had shown him – was slumped against a wall in a pool of her own blood. Unlike the rest of the house, the bedroom was a mess: a lamp was shattered on the floor, a mirror against the wall was broken, and the covers on the bed were ripped off like someone had dragged Mrs. Unwin from the bed. Harry’s mind shuddered at the thought of what could have happened here as he crouched down in front of Lee’s wife. Harry tapped he side of his glasses and placed two fingers on the woman’s neck, checking for a pulse, and Mrs. Unwin’s – Michelle’s – eyes sluggishly opened. Seeing a stranger crouching in front of her, Michelle weakly tried to push Harry away.

“Mrs. Unwin, it’s okay. I’m a friend of Lee’s. I’m here to help.”

As he finished what he was saying, Harry heard Merlin in his ear, “Harr – Jesus Christ. I’m having an ambulance dispatched to your location now. What the hell happened?”

Harry ignored the handler as he saw that his words seemed to process in the woman’s brain as she stopped pushing him away and tried to focus on him better. Harry looked down at the wound in her abdomen – a knife wound from the looks of it – and reached towards it.

Before he did anything, he looked up into Michelle’s scrutinizing gaze and said, “Help is on the way but I need to apply pressure to your wound to try and stop the bleeding. I’m sorry, but this is going to hurt.”

With that, Harry pressed down and Michelle cried out.

Eyes only half open, Michelle asked, “Lee’s dead, isn’ he?”

Harry looked up into the woman’s eyes and, after a moment, unable to lie, nodded slowly. He watched as Lee’s wife swallowed and closed her eyes. A tear slipped down her cheek and Michelle took a shaky breath before opening her eyes again.

“Mrs. Unwin, what happened?’

“Dean – a man from work. Broke in while I’s sleepin’ and tried ta… Wasn’ th’ first time but he was angry I said no. Got angry again and made me pay for it”, sluggishly Michelle gripped Harry’s wrist, “Take care of my baby. If you was Lee’s friend you’ll take ‘im and make sure he’s safe.”

Harry glanced down at the pool of blood surrounding Michelle and realized that no help in the world would be able to save her. Before he could respond, Michelle’s eyes went blank and the hand around his wrist fell.

The man closed his eyes and swallowed hard – first Lee, and now Michelle. That baby, Gary, he remembered Lee saying, wasn’t going to have anybody.

Coming to a decision. Harry looked up at the woman in front of him and whispered, “I promise. I’ll keep Gary safe.”

Hearing those words, Merlin finally spoke up again, “Harry–”

Harry cut him off as he stood up and made his way to the room he could still hear Gary crying from. Quietly entering the room, so as not to startle the baby even more, Harry headed towards the crying. Looking down he saw the boy was wrapped up in the blanket, fat tears falling down his cheeks as he screamed his lungs out. Running only on instinct, Harry scooped up the baby and brought him to his chest. The agent slowly rocked the boy as he softly shushed him. After a second, Gary seemed to realize that someone who wasn’t his mum or dad was holding him and quieted down, although the tears didn’t stop, to look up at the stranger.

Harry smiled and said softly, “Hello. I heard your name is Gary. It’s nice to finally meet you, my boy. Your dad used to talk about you all the time. My name is Harry”, the tears stopped but Harry continued, “Now I know I am not your dad or your mum, but I am going to take care of you. I promise never to let anything bad happen to you. Does that sound agreeable to you?”

The baby in his arms smiled and wiggled in the blanket.

“Excellent”, Harry smiled wider.

Merlin sighed and said, “I stopped the ambulance from coming to give you time to get little Gary and some of his things out of there. I’m sending some people to get more of it as well as anything that looks to be of sentimental value for when Gary is older.”

Harry continued to smile at the baby in his arms but murmured, “Thank you, Merlin.”

“I don’t know how you are going to handle a baby, Harry, but I can see that there will be no convincing you otherwise. I’ll leave it to you to explain to Arthur.”

With that the agent turned his attention back to Gary.

“Now, will you be okay if I set you back down, Gary?” The baby smiled and wiggled again, “Yes? Good.”

Harry placed the boy back into his crib, but as he was doing so, he saw the blood that was stained on his hands. He glanced back at the baby and saw the same on the blanket. Harry sighed, regretting getting blood everywhere but knowing it had been unavoidable at the time. Swiftly, Harry left the room to go back into Michelle’s and looked through the drawers until he found a pair of winter gloves that he assumes were Lee’s. As he left the room, Harry looked at Michelle one last time before closing the door behind him. The agent made his way back into Gary’s room, now with gloves on so as not to get blood anywhere else, and looked down at the child.

“How are you doing, my boy? Okay? Excellent. I’ll be but a moment, and then we can leave.”

Harry turned away again and began stuffing things into a bag he found in the corner of the room. After some clothes, other essentials and toys in the bag, Harry turned back to the baby again and lifted him into his arms.

“Alright, Gary. Some friends of mine are going to pick up other things you might need or want, but do you have anything you need before you go?”

Gary’s only response was to giggle and reach for Harry’s glasses. Harry smiled and leaned his head down to let the baby take them off his face. The agent then shifted the boy to one arm and picked up the bag with his other and made his way out of the house. At the door, Harry looked back and sighed. _If only if only if only_.

The man then turned away, closed the door, and headed for his car, knowing baby Gary would never get to meet his parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine, for this story anyways, that at this time Harry is only maybe five years older than Lee was – who I picture being around twenty, so he has only been Galahad for about the same amount of time. I see Merlin as being around twenty-six, but was recruited to start training for Merlin around nineteen and was learning under the previous Merlin for three years or so, meaning Merlin has only been Merlin for around that same amount of time. This is mostly because I want Harry and Merlin to actually be at, what I consider, a typical age to be having kids. Also, because I want to explore young Harry and young Merlin a bit. I see Eggsy (who doesn’t have his nickname yet but don’t worry, it will come) around four months – can’t fully lift his head unless sitting up but sleeps through the night and eats formula (thankfully for Harry).


	2. For Lee's Son

When Merlin got the alert that Harry had activated his glasses, he didn’t look at it right away. He was sitting at his desk, elbow on his knees and head in his hands. Merlin had been officially titled as Merlin for only three years, and this was the first time a recruit had died. He knew it had happened in the past – the last Merlin made sure he knew that “the most dangerous job interview” line was more than just a line – but had been hoping never to have to see it happen while he was Merlin.

Trying to shake off the sadness he felt over Lee’s death, Merlin rubbed at his face a second before looking up. When he looked at his computer, Merlin saw that Harry was transmitting and frowned. The man was supposed to be at the Unwin household informing Lee’s wife. The handler opened up Harry’s feed intending to see why Harry was contacting him already.

“Harr–” Merlin cut himself off when he saw Michelle Unwin’s bloody body, “Jesus Christ. I’m having an ambulance dispatched to your location now. What the hell happened?”

When Harry didn’t respond, Merlin watched as the man tried to help Mrs. Unwin. He wasn’t surprised when Michelle asked if Lee was dead, but he was surprised when she told Harry what happened and then pleaded for Harry to take care of her son. The handler couldn’t stop his eyes closing from sorrow when Michelle died – that little boy, Lee’s son, was left with no one.

Before Merlin could mourn for the boy’s situation, he heard, “I promise. I’ll keep Gary safe.”

The man snapped his eyes open, “Harry–”

He cut himself off from the protests he was about to give the agent when Harry stood up, obviously not about to listen to him. Merlin watched as Harry swiftly make his way to the crying baby and easily pick him up and calm him down. Merlin was mesmerized and Harry softly talked to the infant, smile in his voice, until baby Gary smiled. The handler snapped out of his trance and sighed as he typed.

“I stopped the ambulance from coming to give you time to get little Gary and some of his things out of there. I’m sending some people to get more of it as well as anything that looks to be of sentimental value for when Gary is older”, Merlin waited for an acknowledgement that Harry heard and continued, “I don’t know how you are going to handle a baby, Harry, but I can see that there will be no convincing you otherwise. I’ll leave it to you to explain to Arthur.”

When no other response came and the agent, Merlin watched as Harry began packing a few things for Lee’s son. _Lee’s son._ Harry was about to bring a baby into his life, knowing that, without a spouse, his life was about to become much more difficult. All because it was _Lee’s_ son. Merlin sighed and sent a message to the people he had sent over to the Unwin household, letting them know he would join them. The handler didn’t think he would ever have been able to take a kid on full time the way Harry was about to, but the least he could do was make sure that Gary had plenty of things to learn about his parents from.

Standing up from his computer, Merlin left his office and headed to the Unwin household.

><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< 

Merlin had been at Lee and Michelle’s house for over an hour and he still hadn’t worked up the nerve to enter the master bedroom. Him and his coworkers had easily picked through baby Gary’s room and gathered a majority of the items, packed up pictures they found all over the house, grabbed a handwritten cookbook that seemed to have been passed down on Michelle’s side, and even took the huge assortment of snow globes – as well as the stockings hanging below them – that rested above the fireplace (Merlin saw one laying in the playpen that was in the living room and when he picked it up, noticed that Lee’s name was written on the bottom, and realized the collection had been Lee’s). With all of that packed up, the only thing that remained was the room he knew Michelle’s body was in. Merlin sent his coworkers return to the estate with everything, insisting to do this room himself. The man stared at the door a moment longer and took a deep breath before opening the door. Merlin looked at the body on the other side of the room and felt overwhelmed with the sorrow he felt for baby Gary.

“I’m sorry”, he whispered before peeling his eyes away.

Merlin slowly made his way through the room, making sure he didn’t miss a single item that seemed like it had sentimental value to the Unwins. After picking out some pictures, a photo album, and a few odd trinkets. Merlin turned to leave but stopped in the doorway. He gave Michelle’s body one last look before softly closing the door behind him. He walked out of the house and couldn’t help but think, _If only_ , as he made a call that would notify the authorities of Michelle and baby Gary’s new fate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this is a much shorter than the first chapter, but I felt like I needed to add in Merlin’s perspective on what has happened so far and this is what came out. I didn’t want to add anything after Merlin left the house like I had originally planned because I didn’t feel like it would flow as well, hence the size of the chapter. 
> 
> Hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far! Don't forge kudos and comments! I love feedback of all types!


	3. Lifestyle

Harry couldn’t be more grateful for his mum forcing him to babysit his younger cousin while he was younger, than in that moment. After leaving the Unwin household, Harry had expected Gary to fall back asleep now that he was no longer crying. Instead, Harry realized that Gary was extremely curious for a baby of only four months. Something new would capture his attention every few minutes, although the boy had yet to let go of his glasses; currently, Harry’s fingers were Gary’s newest interest.

Despite the time – sometime after midnight, he knew – the boy seemed to be just as awake as he would be during the day, even after having a bottle, due to the new sights that were Harry and his home. It was only because of the patience he learned while babysitting his cousin – who had been an absolute nightmare when woken up – that Harry was able to keep Gary and his apparent abundance of curious energy entertained. Although it did help that, so far, the boy had yet to be anything but happy since meeting him. However, if he was being honest with himself, Harry was more than happy to get to know the boy and relieved that Gary would be able to get comfortable with him before going to sleep. The faster the boy became comfortable with him, the less likely Gary would have a hard time adjusting to his new life without his mother.

At that thought, the agent couldn’t stop the sigh of sadness he let out. The sound caused baby Gary to look up at him and away from the finger he had his little hand wrapped around. Harry smiled softly as the big blue eyes studied him for a moment before dropping back down to the things in his hands. Gary looked between Harry’s glasses, which were held in the boy’s other hand, and Harry’s fingers. The agent chuckled at the conflicted look on the boy’s face, obviously trying to decide if Harry’s hand was interesting enough to put down the glasses. The boy looked up at him again, smiled, then promptly held the glasses up.

“Are those for me? Why thank you, Gary. Quite generous of you. But you have my hands a bit occupied at the moment, so I cannot take them.”

Gary giggled and waved the glasses in the air.

“Alright, if you insist, I will take them. But I will momentarily need my hand back.”

With that Harry extracted his hand from the boy’s grip, causing the baby to watch his hand in confusion, and slid his glasses back on. Just as Gary was reaching his arms out towards his fingers, Harry brought his hand back within the boy’s reach. He couldn’t keep the small smile off his face as he watched Gary play with his fingers for a few minutes, now using both of his hands. Not too much later, the boy yawned.

“Finally tired then, my boy?”

When Gary’s eyelids drooped and grip slackened, Harry took his hand back and adjusted his grip on the baby so that Gary was now laying in his arm, having been previously in a sitting position in the crook of Harry’s elbow. The man brought his hand back in front of Gary, who immediately grabbed onto his pointer finger. It didn’t take much time for the boy to fall asleep after that. Once he was sure Gary was fully asleep, Harry sat down at his couch.

It wasn’t until he was sitting on his couch with a sleeping baby in his arms, did Harry allow himself to think about his decision to take Gary in. During the five years he had been at Kingsman, Harry had been to all seven continents and many different countries while only coming home for days at a time. All of his missions had taken a span of several months – and one an entire year – with only two or three days between each mission, unless he was injured. When he first became an agent, Harry had requested the lengthier missions and never took more than the minimum time required between missions both because he enjoyed his job, and because he figured others had family, while he was mostly estranged from his own.

Harry felt Gary shift in his arm and looked down. He smiled when he saw the baby had shifted so the hand that was not holding Harry’s finger was now curled around Harry’s shirt and his face was pressed into Harry’s chest. The agent moved his thumb in order to stroke the hand that was gripping Harry’s finger and realized that now he had family he needed to make time for.

Suddenly the doorbell rang, snapping Harry out of his thoughts but luckily not waking Gary up. The agent looked at the clock on the wall and frowned. Before he could truly question why someone was at his door at one in the morning, Harry received a message from Merlin on his glasses:

_Stop being paranoid and let me in._

The man smirked as he stood up, careful not to wake up the boy in his arms, and walked over to the door. Harry extracted his hand from Gary’s grip, causing the boy to frown before moving the now empty hand near his face, and unlocked the door. Once the door was open, Harry raised an eyebrow in question at the long but thin box that was leaning against the side of Merlin’s legs. When the other man just raised an eyebrow back, Harry stepped aside and let Merlin in. Once inside, the handler walked upstairs, leaving Harry in the entryway. Harry frowned but trailed after Merlin until he found the man in the guest room, pulling pieces of what looked like a crib out of the box.

“You brought a crib to my house at one in the morning?” Harry asked quietly with his eyebrows raised in disbelief.

Merlin snorted just as quietly, “It’s not like you thought that far ahead. What were you planning on doing when you eventually have to put the baby down, Harry?”

Harry felt himself blush in embarrassment when he realized that Merlin was right and he hadn’t thought that far ahead.

“That’s what I thought. Now are you going to put Gary down on the bed and help me or not?”

With that, Harry moved out of the doorway and pulled the blankets on the bed back before carefully extracting Gary’s hand from his shirt and setting the boy down. When the baby whimpered in his sleep, Harry leaned down and whispered comfortingly in Gary’s ear as he stroked the soft brown hair on top of his head. Once the boy was settled back down, Harry pulled a blanket over him and then straightened up and turned around to see Merlin watching him. Harry ignored the eyes on him and sat down on the floor next to his friend; he began reading the instructions on how to assemble the crib, which Merlin unsurprisingly bypassed, when the tech genius finally spoke up.

“I didn’t know you were so good with children.”

Harry shrugged without looking up, “Comes with practice. I used to babysit my cousin when I we were younger.”

Merlin just hummed in response. Harry could feel the man’s unasked questions, but resolutely ignored them, hoping to delay the inevitable conversation. It wasn’t until they were finished putting the crib together that Merlin finally broke the silence.

“Do you have any clue what you’re doing?”

Harry scoffed, “Of course I do.”

“Really. Because you just decided to take on a baby, by yourself, when you have been home for fifteen days, _maybe_ a month, in the last year. Children take a lot more time than a month, Harry.”

“Yes, thank you, Merlin. I know.”

“Well then how in the hell do you expect to fit a baby into your life, Harry?”

The two of them looked over at the boy in the bed when he made a small distressed sound. Harry quickly walked over and scooped Gary. He began to sway slightly, making the baby quickly fall back into a deep sleep.

Without taking his eyes off of Gary, Harry whispered, “I don’t expect to fit him into this lifestyle. I plan to fit my lifestyle to him. I’m not going to take the lengthier missions anymore and I’ll hire a nanny for when I am gone.”

Merlin paused before softly asking, “And how do you plan on telling Arthur that?”

 “He may be the head of Kingsman, but Chester King does not control my life. My loyalty remains with Kingsman so there is nothing he can do about my choices.” Harry looked up at the man in front of him with a smirk, “Besides, everyone knows Merlin is the one who truly runs the agency and, lucky for me, I seem to be friends with that tosser.”

Merlin rolled his eyes and Harry looked back down at Gary. He smiled when he saw the boy grip onto his shirt again.

“Everything else aside, I’m here if you ever need help, Harry.”

Harry looked back up at the man, smile still on his face, “Thank you, Merlin.”

Merlin nodded before saying, “But please tell me you plan on giving the boy a nickname. Lee was a smart man, but I don’t know what he was thinking when he agreed with his wife on the name Gary.”

Harry chuckled softly, “You know, I was thinking the same thing. I’ll let you know when I think of something.”

“Good. In that case, I’ll be off”, Merlin started to walk out of the room, but paused at the door way to look at Harry, “Don’t wait until the day you are expected back at work to inform Arthur of your new living situation, Galahad.”

The agent nodded and Merlin left. Harry then walked over to the crib and carefully set Gary into it. He stroked the soft brown hair, watching the boy sleep before a minute, before leaving the room for the comfort of his own bed, knowing he’d need as much sleep as he would get in the days to come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my mind, Harry's house has the layout that is labeled as Version 2 (after you scroll down to the end).  
> http://hellahartwin.tumblr.com/post/149289289024/the-galahad-house


	4. Adjusting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to let you guys know:  
> In previous chapters you can't read Merlin's accent, but in this one I decided to change that slightly. It's not a lot that has changed but words like didn't is now didnae and you is ye. I did this so it is a bit easier to imagine the accent but made sure not to go overbearing. It was more a personal preference than anything but that's how Merlin's speech will be from now own.  
> Enjoy :)

Harry woke up the next morning, unsurprisingly, to the sound of crying. Not yet used to the sound, he shot out of bed ready for an attack. After a second, memories of the previous night flooded through his brain, reminding him of his new house occupant. The man relaxed, scrubbed at his face tiredly and walked into the guest room. He peeked into the crib to find Gary with tears running down his face. Harry easily picked the baby up and began to rock him comfortingly as he headed towards the kitchen.

“Shh, it’s all right, my boy”, Harry murmured to the wailing boy. It wasn’t until a few minutes later when Harry gave him his bottle did Gary stop crying, too focused on eating, “There we go. Much better now, yes?”

The agent patiently rocked Gary soothingly as he waited for him to finish his bottle. Harry yawned, and thought about what was on the agenda for the day. He wasn’t due back to Kingsman for another four days. He dreaded having to tell Arthur his new living arrangement, knowing the man would object, but decided to tell the him tomorrow. Both him and the boy needed a little time to adjust to each other, but the sooner he informed the man, the better. Harry heard a small burp and looked down in surprise.

“Well, at least that is one thing I don’t have to worry about it seems,” he smiled down at the baby and took the empty bottle away. When Gary smiled back, he said, “I do believe this is where it should be my turn to have breakfast, you know. As impressive as your ability to burp is, I don’t believe you can sit up yourself yet, can you?”

The boy just cooed in response.

“That’s what I thought. So, you don’t mind helping me make my breakfast, do you?”

Harry smiled when the boy happily cooed some more and he shifted him so he was sitting in Harry’s left arm. The agent continued to talk to Gary, who continued to coo back at him, as he moved through the kitchen and made himself some toast and eggs. The baby seemed fascinated with the eggs, forcing Harry to keep a close eye on reaching arms. Once the cooking was done, the man put his food on his plate and sat down at the dining room table with the boy in his lap, left arm holding him up. Of course, Gary reached for the food as soon as he saw it in front of him. Harry gently intercepted the curious hands and pushed the plate a little farther away.

“Now, Gary. I do believe you’ve had your breakfast. You can’t possible be hungry for more.”

The baby reached out for the plate again and made a face when he realized it was too far away from his position. Harry simply picked his fork up and took a bite of the eggs. Gary watched him do it again when he took a second bite, captivated. However, when Harry took his third bite, the boy reached his hands up to Harry’s mouth. The agent couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him as he swallowed.

“Well if you would like to try them that badly,” Harry cut a small part of the egg and set his fork down. He then picked it up and fed it to Gary, waiting for a reaction.

They boy’s eyes lit up and made a happy sound, reaching for the plate again.

Harry smiled, “I’m glad you like it, my boy.”

He took another bite for himself and Gary immediately put his hands on Harry’s mouth again causing him to laugh and pretend to mock eat the little hands. The little boy laughed loudly and pat at Harry’s cheek. Harry smiled and took another bite, despite the hands still on his face. Gary babbled a little and continued to pat his face. After a few bites, the boy seemed to realized that Harry’s fork is what brought the eggs to Harry’s mouth and proceeded to reach for that. The man chuckled again and fed him another small bite. They continued that way – Garry even trying a small bit of bread, which he smiled for but did not light up for the way he did with the eggs – until Harry finished his breakfast. Once he was done, he set his dishes in the sink for later and walked back up the stairs with Gary.

“About time to get ready for the day, don’t you think, my boy?”

The baby just babbled and played with the sleep shirt Harry still had on. Harry set Gary on his bed, who immediately reached for his feet and looked around the room, before changing into a set of casual clothes. Once changed, he retrieved the bag he left the Unwin home with, and pulled out a set of baby clothes – a simple blue onesie, black pants, and a pair of socks. When he returned, Harry looked up at Gary to see the boy on his stomach, pushing himself up on his elbows in order to see around him. Then Gary saw him and smiled in excitement as he kicked his legs out.

“Well this is a surprise. Perhaps sitting up isn’t too far way.”

Garry babbled at him.

“I agree. We will definitely have to get a high chair for you soon. I’ll be sure to have the things Merlin got from your home moved over here.”

Harry sent a message and then picked the baby up and placed him on his back again in order to change the boy into the new set of clothes. Gary giggled and touched his face.

“Mmm, yes all of it is at the shop I believe, so they shouldn’t take too long to get here.”

Much like he did in the kitchen, Harry continued to talk to the boy as he got Gary dressed. When Harry finally wrangled the baby into his clothes he smiled, “There we are. Now, I say it’s about time to have a little fun. Any ideas?”

Gary simply brought a foot up to his mouth and stared at Harry.

“Well, yes that is fun I’m sure, but I think we can do better than that”, the man then picked the boy up, “Let’s go see what trouble we can make downstairs, hmmm?”

><><><><><><><><><><><><><>< 

A couple of hours later, Merlin found himself at Harry’s house, all of Gary’s stuff in tow. The tech genius hadn’t originally been planning to bring the items himself, but figured Harry would need some help setting some of the things up – which he intended to help with anyways seeing as how the crib would have taken the man hours by himself – especially since the baby was too young to be left alone completely unattended. So, he walked through the door Harry had left unlocked for whoever was going to bring the boy’s stuff by. Merlin followed the sounds he could hear into the sitting room, intending to inform the agent why he was here, but stopped in the doorway.

Harry was on the floor, laying on his back, holding Gary up in the air, while making silly faces at the boy. The baby was smiling and waving his arms and legs around as he reached for Harry’s face. Just as Merlin was going to get Harry’s attention, the man surprised him and brought Gary back down to his chest while making “I’m gonna eat you” noises, causing the boy to squeal in laughter. A startled laugh came out of Merlin’s lips, amused by the scene. He didn’t realize Harry could ever be so _adorable_.

Harry and Gary both turned in surprise at Merlin’s laugh. The tech genius nearly laughed again when he saw a slight blush on the agent’s cheeks for a moment. Harry sat up, still holding Gary against his chest.

“Merlin. I wasn’t expecting you.”

Merlin restrained a smile and told him, “I brought Gary’s things, as requested.”

Harry moved the boy to sit in the crook of his arms as he frowned. The man opened the mouth to say something but was interrupted by the baby, who had previously been staring at Merlin intently, making grabby hands at him. Merlin just raised his eyebrow in disbelief. Children never really did that sort of thing since he shaved off what was left of his hair a few months ago. Harry laughed at his disbelief and stood up.

“Merlin, meet Gary. Gary, Merlin.”

The boy happily cooed while reaching out to Merlin once more.

Merlin murmured took the baby into his arms carefully. He tried to mimic how Harry had been holding him, causing Harry to smirk and adjust his arms.

The tech genius then smiled at the boy in his arms, “Well, it is very nice tae finally meet ye, Gary.”

Gary, smiled and reached up to grab Merlin’s glasses. Merlin sighed but let the boy take them as Harry chuckled at him.

“Yes, he is quite taken with glasses. Which is why I have yet to put mine on today.”

“At least ye dinnae actually need yers to see, Harry,” Merlin complained, making Harry laugh, “Since I am temporarily blind and have my hands occupied, ye can start unloading Gary’s things from the car.”

Harry narrowed his eyes, “You planned this.”

Merlin just smirked in response. Harry scowled and left to start bringing things into the house.

The tech genius laughed and looked down at the boy in his arms, “And that, lad, is how ye get Harry Hart tae do what ye want him to.”

Gary laughed and held the glasses out to Merlin while reaching up to pat him on the face. Merlin easily slipped the glasses back on, pulling the world back into focus.

“But I have nae doubt that ye have that man wrapped around yer finger already.”

Gary just continued to pat his face with one hand. Merlin puffed out his cheek in response, causing Gary to giggle and pat it again. When the boy’s hand hit his cheek again, he let the air out. Gary laughed even harder. Merlin repeated this a couple times, Gary never losing his amusement.

Merlin smiled, “Ye are just full of smiles, aren’t ye, lad? Bet ye are going to be quite the prankster. We’ll have to pull the best ones on, Harry.”

The baby pat at his cheek a few times before losing interest when he didn’t puff them up again. Gary moved his hands to play with Merlin’s jumper. The boy happily babbled as he did so. Merlin smiled as he watched.

“Careful, Merlin. Keep looking at him like that and he’ll have you wrapped around his finger.”

The handler turned to look at Harry, “As if ye aren’t already.”

Gary interrupted them with a yawn, prompting Harry to take the boy into his arms.

“I got everything in the house, but you’re welcome to stay for lunch. I’ll put Gary down for a nap and make us some sandwiches.”

“Alright. I was going tae help ye set some things up since it would take you forever otherwise.”

Harry smiled, “Thank you. I’ll be down in just a moment,” and disappeared upstairs with the sleepy baby.

Merlin got himself a cup of water, knowing exactly where everything is by now, and sat down at the table, waiting for Harry. Only a few minutes later, Harry walked in and proceeded to make his way to the kitchen. Harry rummaged around in the refrigerator and pulled out everything he needed.

As he made the sandwiches, Merlin asked, “Where’s Mr. Pickle?”

“Still at the kennel at HQ. I figured I would pick him up and introduce him to Gary tomorrow, after I talk to Arthur.”

Merlin blinked in surprise, “Since when do ye not push back talking tae Arthur for as long as possible?”

“Since I decided to be the sole guardian to a child, and couldn’t give a flying fuck what Chester has to say about it,” Harry shot back.

“Well, in that case, I wish ye luck. Let me know how it goes.”

Harry nodded and brought their sandwiches over.

“What will ye do if Gary ends up being allergic tae dogs?” Merlin asked him curiously.

He nearly laughed and the look of horror on Harry’s face. The man absolutely adored the Terrier.

“You think he might be?”

Merlin shrugged, “The Unwins didnae have a dog. Although that could have been more related tae finances than anything. But the possibility is still there.”

Harry shook his head but didn’t reply, obviously trying not to think about it if that did happen.

They finished their lunch in silence and quickly cleaned their dishes before walking over to all of the boxes. Merlin heard Harry sigh as they looked at how much stuff they had to go through. They agreed to start by separating things by what Gary could use now and what would have to be packed away for when he was old enough to understand what had happened to his parents. As they organized, they easily fell into a comfortable silence, broken only by the occasional conversation that happened to come up.

Around an hour later, right as they finished organizing, they could hear Gary begin to announce he was awake. Merlin watched as Harry got up and made his way up to the baby before standing up and stretching himself. He moved the boxes of stuff for when Gary was older to the side, and began cataloguing everything Harry had for the baby in order to determine what the man would need to get. He was about halfway done when Harry walked down the stairs with a still upset boy in his arms. Gary had tears rolling down his face and was gripping Harry’s shirt tightly as he wailed. Merlin winced at how high loud the boy could get, not envying Harry at all in that moment. The man calmly walked past him and towards the kitchen, presumably getting a bottle for Gary.

When the wails didn’t stop after a few minutes, Merlin frowned. He was about to make his way into the kitchen to see if he could help, but a picture in the pile of Gary’s things caught his eye. It was of Gary playing with a stuffed toy dog. A bull dog if he was correct. He remembered seeing the bull dog in a few other pictures. Coming to a decision, Merlin went through the toys they found until he found the stuffed dog. He then made his way into the kitchen to find Harry swaying with the boy in his arms and whispering comforting nonsense as Gary continued to wail. Merlin noticed a forgotten bottle on the counter. He moved closer until he was standing directly in front of Harry, ignoring the man’s inquiring look. He simply held the toy up in front of Gary, who immediately grabbed onto it. The wailing died down into quiet sobs, even as the tears continued.

Harry’s eyes widened, still swaying the baby comfortingly. Merlin just shrugged and walked back out to finish cataloguing. A few minutes later, Harry came out to join him. Gary was still clutching the dog tightly but he was now eating the bottle Harry gave him.

“How did you know that would work?”

Merlin shrugged again, “I didnae. I saw a photo of him with the toy and remembered seeing it in a lot of pictures.”

“I don’t think I would have thought of that. I just figured he was missing his mother.”

“He probably is, but I’m guessing that toy is the next best thing for him.”

Harry nodded and took the empty bottle away from the boy and heading back into the kitchen. When he came back again, Merlin handed him the list he made.

“I went through the stuff that ye have from the Unwin’s house and this is the list of things that I know ye will need tae get him. It’s mostly things that were nae worth taking from the house, like the high chair, dresser, those types of things.”

Harry nodded and pocketed the list, “Will you help me take the stuff for later up to the guest room closet? They should all fit there until I figure out a better place to put them. After that we can put everything else next to the bed until I get the stuff on the list and remove the bed from the room.”

Merlin nodded and grabbed a box before following Harry upstairs. Once there, Harry laid a blanket out, making sure it was out of the way, and placed Gary down on his stomach. Gary made a face and rolled onto his side so he could play with his dog. The two of them then easily moved everything upstairs while keeping an eye on the boy. Much like when they were organizing, they worked mostly in silence, unless an odd conversation or two came up. About an hour later, they carried up the last of the things.

“Thank you, Merlin. For your help today.”

Merlin nodded, “I’ll leave ye to shopping then. I’ve probably avoided Chester for as long as is acceptable, anyways.”

Harry laughed, “Well played, Merlin.”

Merlin smirked and crouched in front of Gary, who was now on his stomach again, while lifting his torso up with his elbows, “It was very nice to meet ye, Gary. I hope to see ye again soon so we can make a little trouble for Harry.”

Gary smiled and kicked his feet, causing Merlin to smile back before standing up again. He waved to Harry and made his way out of the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I did not expect this chapter to end up the way it did, but I decided to use it anyway. I very much enjoyed the morning scene and then everything else kind of just happened. Next chapter probably won't continue with Harry's shopping trip, but instead skip to the next day, so just assume Harry went shopping with baby Gary and everyone cooed over his adorableness :) Did you guys get the hint towards Gary earning his nickname? I was going to add in the nickname right then but it didn't flow as I would have liked so I came up with a better time to do that. I promise Gary will become Eggsy very soon :)  
> Hope you guys enjoyed it!


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